Can a Foreigner Own an Authorised Company?

Short answer: foreign ownership is the normal case

A foreigner can own an Authorised Company in Mauritius. The legal framework does not ask shareholders to be Mauritian citizens, to live on the island or to hold any particular passport. In practice the structure was designed for the opposite profile: a company owned and run by people outside Mauritius.

The Financial Services Act 2007 makes this explicit. A company incorporated under the Companies Act whose majority of shares or voting rights is held or controlled by a non-citizen of Mauritius, which does business mainly outside Mauritius and whose central management and control sit outside Mauritius, must apply to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) for authorisation as an Authorised Company (section 71A(1)). Foreign ownership is therefore not an obstacle to clear; it is the situation the category is written for.

If you want the wider picture of the status itself, the page on the meaning of an Authorised Company covers it. This page stays on one point: who may hold the shares, and what the authorities expect to see about them.

No nationality test, but three conditions that follow ownership

Foreign ownership is permitted, yet it comes with conditions that the owner does not control by simply choosing a nationality. Three are worth separating.

1. Business mainly outside Mauritius

The company must carry on its business principally outside Mauritius. The statute also treats certain dealings as compatible with that status: an Authorised Company is deemed to operate outside Mauritius even if it carries out the transactions listed in section 73(1)(c) to (f) of the Act (section 71A(13)). Whether a given activity fits is a question for your adviser, and the page on what an Authorised Company may run sets out the boundaries.

2. Central management and control abroad

The company's central management and control must be located outside Mauritius. This is a matter of fact, not of paperwork: where decisions are really taken matters. Under the Income Tax Act, a company is resident in Mauritius if it is incorporated there or if its central management and control are there (section 73), but a Mauritian-incorporated company that is centrally managed and controlled abroad is treated as non-resident (section 73A) and must still file a return under section 116. The practical side is covered in managing an Authorised Company from abroad.

3. A local registered agent

Every Authorised Company must have a registered agent in Mauritius at all times, and that agent must be an FSC-licensed corporate service provider (Management Licence) (section 71A(7)(a)). The application for authorisation is itself filed through such a provider (section 71A(2)-(3)). The owner therefore never deals with the FSC alone: a licensed provider stands between the foreign shareholder and the regulator.

What the law does not ask of the owner

It helps to list what is absent, because many first-time owners assume the opposite.

For a company with a domestic profile the position is different: the same official page lists at least one resident director for a domestic company, and two resident directors for Global Business and VCC companies. That contrast is the reason foreign owners usually look at the Authorised Company first. The number of directors is discussed in how many directors an offshore company needs.

Ownership documents and information the authorities expect

Foreign ownership does not mean anonymous ownership. Mauritian law is built on identification of the natural person behind the company.

Under section 91(3A) of the Companies Act 2001 (as updated on 15 May 2026), every Mauritian company must at all times identify its beneficial owner and, where relevant, any nominee, and record them in a separate register. The register holds:

• the full name and residential address;
• the national identity number or passport number;
• the nationality;
• the holding structure that identifies the ultimate beneficial owner.

The beneficial owner is the natural person who ultimately owns or controls the company, or on whose behalf a transaction is carried out, through direct or indirect shareholding, voting rights, ownership interest or control by other means. The definition applies a prescribed percentage; the previous wording of section 91 used 25% of voting rights, and the definition was changed by Act 10/2024. Do not rely on a single percentage to decide whether you are caught: a person who controls by other means can be a beneficial owner with a small holding.

In practice, the registered agent will ask a foreign owner for documents that support those entries. The exact list is set by the provider and by the FSC Rules, and it varies with the case, but the following items are typical of what is asked:

• A valid passport, certified as a true copy
• Proof of residential address, such as a recent utility bill or bank statement
• Evidence of the source of funds and of wealth
• For a corporate shareholder, its constitutional documents and a chart of the holding structure down to the individuals
• A short description of the intended business and the countries where clients and suppliers are located
• Details of the director and of where board decisions will be taken

The full list of conditions is in the requirements guide; this page does not repeat it. For the order of operations, see how to open an offshore company in Mauritius.

Who sees the owner's details?

Providing identity documents does not make them public. The Registrar of Companies maintains a Beneficial Ownership Register, accessible to all competent authorities and to other prescribed public authorities. The Companies Act does not describe this register as public. The registered agent also has AML/CFT duties under section 71A(8) of the Financial Services Act, and part of its role is to handle communications with the FSC, the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) and the Registrar.

Privacy towards the public is therefore different from secrecy towards the authorities. The page on whether the owner of an offshore company is private goes further into that distinction. Foreign tax authorities may also obtain information through exchange mechanisms, which is a separate matter from the Mauritian register.

Nominees and cross-border structures

A foreign owner sometimes asks whether someone else can hold the shares on their behalf. The law contemplates nominees, but it requires them to be identified together with the person for whom they act, and the ultimate beneficial owner must still appear in the register. A nominee does not remove the owner from view; it adds a layer to be disclosed.

Where the shareholder is itself a company, the register must show the chain of holdings up to the natural person. A structure with a foreign parent is possible, and the documents requested simply increase.

A step many people miss: ownership can trigger authorisation

Because the rule is triggered by non-citizen majority ownership combined with activity abroad, the question is not only whether you may own the company but whether you must ask for authorisation. Operating as an Authorised Company without authorisation is an offence, with a fine of up to MUR 1,000,000 (sections 71(5) and 71A(12) of the Financial Services Act). Two consequences follow:

1. Do not start trading through a Mauritian company before the authorisation is granted.
2. Choosing a regime is a legal question, not a branding one. The distinction between this status and the Global Business Licence regime rests on where the company is managed and controlled, and the choice depends on your facts; an adviser should confirm it.

Once an application is considered complete, the FSC must grant it within 10 working days under section 17B of the Financial Services Act, a time limit that applies to Authorised Company applications by virtue of section 17C, except for applications filed before 1 October 2024.

Costs that follow the status, not the nationality

Foreign ownership does not change the fee scale. Since 1 July 2026, the Authorised Company authorisation carries a processing fee of USD 600 and an annual fee of USD 1,400, excluding the annual registration fee of USD 65 (or another amount set by the Registrar of Companies) paid to the Registrar. The first annual fee is pro-rated by the quarter in which authorisation is granted: USD 1,400 (July to September), USD 1,050 (October to December), USD 700 (January to March) and USD 350 (April to June). These figures come from the 2026 fee rules; confirm the current scale with the provider before you commit.

Late payment is expensive: the annual fee rises to USD 1,750 if paid within a month after the due date, USD 2,100 between one and three months late, and USD 2,800 between three and six months late. More on this in the guide to annual fees.

Owner's own tax position

Holding shares in a Mauritian Authorised Company does not remove the owner's tax obligations at home. The company's treatment in Mauritius and the owner's treatment in their country of residence are two separate questions, and the second depends on local law, including any rules on controlled foreign companies. A US person, for example, faces specific reporting and anti-deferral rules; see the page for US citizens and residents. The Mauritian side is summarised in Authorised Company taxation.

Common reasons a foreign owner's application stalls

• Documents that are not certified, or that do not match the names on the application.
• A holding structure that stops at a company and does not identify the individual behind it.
• A business description that is vague about clients and countries.
• A plan that, on its face, places decision-making in Mauritius, which would not fit the status.
• Choosing a provider without checking its licence; see the FSC licence checklist.

The provider can also choose to decline a client, and the FSC Board can reject some applications without giving reasons in the Global Business Licence process. Applying is not a guarantee of authorisation.